Nicola Muirhead - Unseen/COVID 19

This project by Nicola Muirhead uses Polaroid photos to capture the unspoken fears surrounding COVID-19. Muirhead took Polaroid photos in lockdown, then used common cleaning products such as bleach, hand sanitiser, and washing up liquid, to alter the chemistry of the photograph. This resulted in cracks, bubbles, and discolouration, which all remind the viewer of the unsees threat of the virus. The photographs themselves are of flowers, a deserted London City, and the artist and her partner, as Muirhead wanted to show the physical closeness between them, and how the pandemic affected their relationship.

Without the bleach and washing up liquid marks, the photographs would be nothing more than a documentation of day to day life, but with these stains and bubbles the Polaroids hold much more meaning. The discolouration and speckles represent the virus, and the expressions on the subjects's faces communicate the unrelenting anxiety that the pandemic has imposed on millions of people around the world. I like how the uneven marks and stains seem like a layer over the top of the portraits, as it reinforces the idea of it being an unseen virus. The threat is always there, but never actually seen, which makes it all the more intimidating.

The organic shapes created by the bleach really emphasize the ever-changing nature of the pandemic, as each day brings new restrictions, new statistics, and new grief to those who remain. The Polaroids were washed and sanitised a few moments after being exposed, then left to sit in the mix of chemicals for a few minutes and washed again. The use of household cleaning materials in the creation of these images brings us back to the pandemic, and the tiny ways each person can help to fight it. I think this was a deliberate connection made by Muirhead, and I think it was very successful. I love all the colours brought out by these processes, and I'd love to try it out myself.

How am I taking this artist into consideration for my own work?

I'd love to play with the idea of physical photo manipulation, as well as seeing which different processes can be used on different types of photographs. I'd like to see if there's any age-related damage in any of the photos my family have sent me, and see if it's possible to recreate at home. I like the look of the cleaning products on the Polaroids, so I want to experiment with that. I've tried bleaching and burning Instax polaroids before, to varying degrees of success, but I have borrowed a Polaroid camera and film from UCA, so I'm going to see what I can achieve with that.